


Harry Potter and the Birthday Wish

by Moon_Rose (Moonrose91)



Series: Harry Potter-Lupin (sorta) [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Harry Potter was Raised by Remus Lupin, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Minor Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 12:54:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13318545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonrose91/pseuds/Moon_Rose
Summary: Harry Potter is five years old and makes a wish on the night of a full moon.Moony is a wandering werewolf with only a magical cave and a spot of forest for home and with no grounding of Pack, of Family.He's hardly going to let Harry, the Pup of the Pack, the Child of the Family, go now is he?





	Harry Potter and the Birthday Wish

**Author's Note:**

> My Werewolves are not Rowling’s Werewolves. Basically, I went, “I do what I want,” and did what I want, while explaining the whole Murderous Rage toward Humans thing. And also…I have Feels regarding Mad Murder Monster thing, and basically chucked it out the window.
> 
> Kinda.

In another time and in another world, when Harry Potter was five years old and wished to be safe and loved, he went nowhere. The only magical bond he had was to his godfather, Sirius Black, who was in Azkaban, and that was hardly a safe place, especially for a child (and even more so for Harry Potter, who was no ordinary child, not even by Wizarding Standards).

In this time and world, however, Sirius Black was not Harry’s only godfather. On paper, registered under places in the Ministry and what have you, he was.

But on official Gringotts Stationary, Sirius Black was one of _two_ godfathers.

The other was Remus Lupin.

And so, in this time and world, when five-year-old Harry Potter wished to be safe and loved, when the clock struck midnight, signifying that it was July 31st and he “blew out” his candle (which was really a lightbulb), Harry Potter disappeared from his Cupboard Under the Stairs.

* * *

Moony trotted through his Territory, that had been warded to _keep him in_ by his Human Half, but let others in.

The Den was the opposite of course. A nice cave, built by his Human Half, it smelled of their magic which was how Moony knew.

Once, he would have merely been able to glance through his Human’s Eyes to know, but the Loss of Their Pack, the _Pup_ he had sworn to protect, though even before that, the Words that made his Human Half cut him off.

Moony let out a snarl and turned on his tufted tail, snapping at it when the scent of _Wizard_ rolled over his nose. His head snapped up and he let out a low growl.

 _They_ caused his Human Half to cut him off! _They_ were the reason that Moony no longer could enjoy being part of Remus’s Life.

Moony ran toward the scent, rage almost blinding him right until the scent of _Pup_ registered and he slowed to a lope and finally came to a small overhang that looked down. He stared, Moony unable to trust himself and he sniffed again.

Pup, most definitely Pup, was dirty, it was why his smell was so _strong_. There was also the smell of old blood, and in the back of Moony’s mind he heard a _scream_ of how he could not let his mouth near Pup.

It was dangerous.

The reasons _why_ were fuzzy and clouded to Moony now, but he trusted his instincts, especially in regards to Pup.

Alpha had trusted _Moony_ to watch over his Pup, should anything happen. Moony had foolishly, it seemed, allowed himself to trust that Pup would be watched over in the absence of the Pack, reassured by something.

An instinct that didn’t feel entirely _right_ , but was likely his Human Half.

He would not make the same mistake twice.

Obviously, he would need to speak with his Human Half, would have to rip down the walls that Remus had put between them to…discuss this.

Wait, Pup was crying and the smell of fear was sharp in the air now.

Moony’s attention snapped back to Pup and found that he was trembling against the edge of the Wards, they wouldn’t let Pup out either it seemed, and he was crying, cringing away from Moony.

Oh no, Moony had allowed himself to get distracted and now he had scared Pup.

Moony let out a low whine at that and quickly got down, walking toward Pup. He stopped a safe distance and tried to remember how to calm Pup.

It was something the Beta had done, but what _was it?_

Pup was still crying, but it was tapering off, and the smell of fear increased.

“Are you gonna eat me?” Pup asked and Moony let out a low whine as he shook his head ‘no’ in the most human like way possible.

Pup let out a gasp and the fear was old, dissipating directly around Pup. “You can under--understand me?” Pup asked, sounding surprised.

Moony let out a happy little bark and lay down in front of Pup with a nod.

“Today’s my birthday,” Pup said and Moony let out another happy bark, his tufted tail wagging across the ground.

Pup let out a nervous giggle and brought his paws, no hands, up to his mouth and covered it. One hand looked…wrong, but Moony didn’t know why.

He knew once he would have, but now he could barely grasp some Human words.

“I made a birthday wish,” Pup whispered and Moony let out a curious whine, cocking his head slightly to show he was listening.

“If I say it, won’t it not come true?” he asked and Moony let out a low whine of confusion.

That sentence made absolutely no sense to Moony. Remus might have understood it, but Moony didn’t. “I heard that…that if you tell someone, it won’t come true. Is that true?” Pup asked and Moony shook his head ‘no’ again.

Pup shifted a little and shuffled his weight in the dirt. “I wished to go somewhere where I could be safe and loved,” Pup whispered and Moony blinked.

He then let out a happy bark, pushing away a desire to rend those who had stolen Pup to pieces by focusing on the fact Pup had come to _him_.

He jumped up onto his paws and bounced excitedly, doing a play bow as he wagged his tail madly, letting the tufted piece swing through the air. Pup was smelling of happiness and he stumbled to his feet. “Did it come true?” Pup asked.

Moony let out another happy bark and gave a nod.

Yes, yes, the wish came true!

Here, _here_ , Pup would be safe and loved, right with Moony.

And once Moony had gotten to Remus, with Remus too.

Moony barely had time to shift his head out of the way to keep Pup safe from his mouth before he was being hugged. Moony let out a happy little whine and shoved his head against Pup’s, before he shifted slightly.

Pup needed to get on his back. There was no way he would get up the incline and Moony was strong enough to carry Pup to the Den.

Pup wasn’t ready to let go yet, however, and so Moony allowed it for a little while longer before he let out a quiet whine. Pup slowly let him go and Moony shifted so Pup could climb onto his back.

It took a bit, and there were a few times that Moony had to rein in the urge to nip when Pup’s bony edges drove into his sides, but Pup was on his back. He felt lighter than he should but he was holding on tight. With a quiet snort, Moony took the path that was safest for Pup to get to the Den.

Once clear of the hill, Moony took off. He moved as quickly as he dared with Pup clinging to his back and soon they were at the Den. The mouth was large enough that Alpha could have walked in, no matter the form he took, and he heard Pup make a quiet sound.

The inside was good for Humans. It had a place to go to the bathroom, since Humans didn’t like to go outside, and a safe warm place to sleep. It also had his Human Half’s things in there. “Does someone live here?” Pup asked nervously as Moony walked over to the bed.

Moony nodded.

“Will they be mad?” Pup asked and the fear was sharp again.

Moony shook his head as he carefully laid down on the bed. Pup took a while to get off his back and he put himself so he was closer to Moony’s mouth than he liked. He shifted his head so his mouth was a little further away from Pup.

“How can you be sure?” Pup asked and he was _terrified_.

Moony let out a comforting noise, deep in his throat, an almost whine, but not, before he rubbed his head against Pup’s shoulder. He then carefully got up and nudged the suitcase with his name on it.

A gift from Alpha.

“R. J. Lupin,” Pup read and he looked up at Moony, who put his paw on the suitcase.

Pup looked between them and he almost seemed to sag.

“You’re a grown-up?” he asked.

Moony shifted his head and then gave a side-to-side motion.

It was hard for him to explain, in this form. He pushed the suitcase away and crossed to Pup, promptly shoving his head against Pup’s head before he carefully circled so he was curled around Pup, shifting so his paw covered his mouth.

“When you’re a grown-up, do you promise to still love me?” Pup asked and Moony lifted his head.

He looked at Pup, who looked like Alpha’s Human Half, and gave a nod.

He had a day to convince Pup to make the sleep potion.

Remus would hate it, but Moony didn’t really care.

They were going to _keep_ Pup this time around.

* * *

Harry sighed as he put his cheek on his uninjured left fist. “I wish we had letter blocks,” he said as he watched his wolf, who was sometimes a grown-up but couldn’t become one on command, paced around, trying to explain something.

His wolf let out a curious whine and tilted his head.

“They’re blocks that are all the letters of the alphabet. They allow spelling. I’m very good at spelling. My cousin hates it, so he throws all his books out. I get them out of the trashcan to learn,” Harry explained and his wolf let out a short, angry growl before he swirled in a circle.

His wolf sometimes got like that, distant and angry, but never at Harry. He always directed it away and then would whine at Harry as he crouched down, almost on his belly, as if to make sure Harry wasn’t scared off.

Harry found smiling at his wolf when he calmed down allowed them to get back on the topic of trying to figure out what to do.

His wolf had shown him where the food was and kept nudging him till he ate something and had some water. While the cave was, well, a cave, it was something like what Harry had thought a _Dwarven_ cave would look like.

It was nice and dry on the inside, smooth and comfortable. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, but there was a nice table and a couple of benches. The bed was comfortable, almost like a _cloud_ , even if it was on the ground, and piled with warm furs.

Harry had a feeling his wolf had killed what was once these furs, but he was also sure that everything in it had been eaten, so that was okay.

There was also a bookshelf, long and low, that was _filled_ , and a cauldron over an unlit fire pit in the middle, not mentioning the loo at the back with _running water_.

It was _magical_ and Harry wondered at it.

His wolf let out a small whine and Harry’s gaze snapped back to him. He smiled at his wolf and the wolf relaxed.

“Sorry. I got distracted by how nice this place is,” Harry said and he almost laughed at the way his wolf almost puffed up with pride.

His wolf then paused and glanced around. He promptly rushed over to the bookcase. He then barked, looking at Harry, before staring intently at the bookcase again. Harry got up and walked over. He let the fingers of his good hand, his right hand, trail down before his wolf let out an excited bark.

Harry pulled it off, ignoring how it hurt his left hand, and frowned at the title. “Potions for Sleep?” he questioned and his wolf let out an excited bark before he began to bounce around.

He then nudged against the cauldron and then back over to Harry. “What…you want me to make it?” Harry asked, sounding shocked.

His wolf nodded and let out a happy bark, bowing down his front half while his rump raised, tail wagging excitedly, the tuft at the end swinging through the air.

His wolf didn’t look much like what he had seen in books, but Harry figured wolves that became grown-ups probably _didn’t_.

“Which one?” Harry asked and his wolf let out an excited bark.

Harry carefully sat on the ground and opened the book, carefully turning the pages till his wolf barked at him.

“Okay. Where do we get this stuff?” Harry asked and his wolf let out something like a sneeze before he stood.

Harry followed after him, with the book and soon found himself walking out of the cave with the book, an empty bag, and a knife, his wolf trotting at his side.

* * *

Moony lay down under Remus’s robes that night, knowing that when the sun rose, he would return to human form. He had very little magic in this form, especially since Remus had shut him out, but he had _enough_.

Enough that Pup would be safe. The potion was as well.

Remus would get sick when he woke up, but this potion always did that, and Moony had even shown it to Pup in the book.

Now, he would wait until Pup was asleep, then drink it.

And _then_ he and Remus were going to have a _long_ talk.

* * *

Remus blinked, wondering why he was in the middle of the forest he had marked as Moony’s “territory” for the times he didn’t otherwise have a safe place to go when it was the Full Moon.

“It is my territory,” an annoyed voice snapped and Remus spun around to find himself staring at who could only _be_ Moony.

The werewolf had a shorter snout than a wolf, and eyes that were too human, but also not human enough, a deep golden amber color that swirled with specks of silver, somehow. The gray tufted tail was another sign, especially with how much it stood out against his mostly brown coat.

Remus was surprised to see how big the paws were, how _large_ Moony was.

He now understood why James had always said that only Prongs could hold Moony at bay reliably, that even _Padfoot_ had trouble.

Moony was almost as big as Padfoot, and while Padfoot could fend him off, Prongs would have antlers or even just be able to slam into him with the massive size and weight.

“How…”

“How am I here? Had Pup, oh Harry, right, right, brew a Sleeping Potion. You’ll retch something awful when you wake up, but this was the only way to talk,” Moony answered as he got up.

“Also, it _is_ my Territory. You marked it off and I patrol and hunt in it. That makes it Mine,” he said as he began to walk around.

“Harry’s _here?_ I swear if you did anything to him--”

Remus was cut off when Moony suddenly bowled him over, paws digging into Remus’s shoulders as he growled right down into Remus’s face. “I would _never_ hurt our Pup!” he snarled and then snapped his teeth close to Remus’s face before he got off. “I even made sure my mouth never went near him. Had to. He smelled of old blood. His left hand is broken too. I can’t do anything about that though.”

Moony was pacing around again. “Old blood? _Broken?_ Merlin, what happened?” Remus asked as he climbed to his feet, feeling anger starting to curl through him.

He wanted--

“Stop it!” Remus shouted as he covered his ears and Moony sighed heavily.

“It’s not because of _me_. Just let the thoughts happen and don’t follow through on them. Everyone has nasty thoughts. We used to be able to smell when they happened,” Moony said quietly and Remus stared at him.

He…was not expecting this. He thought, should he ever confront the monster in his mind, he would find a mindless beast, not…this.

“You almost _did_ make me one. Shoving me into that cage. I should have just made us run toward Ireland when I had the chance. Get you some _real_ Werewolf knowledge. That was a fun three nights. Got to run with a Pack again, even if I was just a visitor. One stayed around to see if what I said was true. Remember her?” Moony said and then sighed quietly before he shook his head.

Remus did remember her.

She called herself Anya. She had smiled sadly and given him a card with an address in Ireland after.

“That’s not important now. What’s important is Harry. He _needs us_. Alpha…James, he named us _godfather_. He’s Pack, Remus. Pack is Family. We love him and we need to keep him safe,” Moony said as he focused on Remus.

“What? No, he’s--”

“He was with me on the Full Moon, Remus, And he was safer with me than he was wherever… _Dumbledore_ put him,” Moony interrupted and he let out a low growl over Dumbledore.

“He gave us a chance to learn at Hogwarts!” Remus argued.

“And yet no other werewolf! I wonder why that is Remus? Is it, maybe, because his little experiment with you was a failure?” Moony responded and Remus took a step back.

“You never could bring other Werewolves to the Order. The loyalty of one Werewolf means _nothing_ when a Pack joins that dark Wizard you were fighting,” he continued as his tail swept the ground behind him.

Remus stared as Moony stared calmly back.

Calmly.

Remus blinked slightly and slowly sat down. “Wills or not, official Gringotts Stationary or not, _no one_ will let me adopt Harry Potter,” he whispered.

“Then we take him. He is not safe where he is,” Moony said.

“You sound like--” Remus said and choked over the name.

He couldn’t even think it.

“Harry is Pack, Remus. We’re _Family_. We shouldn’t have trusted anyone else with the safety of our Family, except ourselves,” Moony said quietly as he lay down and looked off into the trees.

“He was safe,” Remus said in a choked voice.

“No. He wasn’t. He smells of old blood, Remus. I could smell him well before I got to him. He has not been bathed for days, if not weeks. He does not trust ‘grown-ups’. He was not safe Remus. And more damning, he was not loved,” Moony said and Remus inhaled sharply.

“How can I trust you?”

“Give me three days like it was when we were children. I will keep us separate, as I did then. My thoughts from yours, yours from mine. I will share only what you wish me to share, which we did not do then. But let me glance through your eyes. Three days. If you cannot trust me, I will return to the cage willingly. If you find you can, we return as we were.”

Remus stared at Moony, who stared back, one paw in the air.

Remus reached out shakily and took Moony’s paw.

He shook it and then…he woke up.

And promptly had to scramble toward the outside of the cave to empty the contents of his stomach.

* * *

Remus was quick to get dressed, sure that Moony was lying, and he heard a scoff in the back of his mind from the…wolf.

He paused.

He had forgotten how comforting that was.

He inhaled slowly and realized all his senses had enhanced slightly. He was sure in dimmer light he would have better sight, but for now, his sight was just a tad sharper. His hearing had picked up on the breathing of another person, deep even breaths, and yes, the smell.

He turned toward the bed and saw Harry, had to be Harry, curled up tight amongst the furs of Moony’s kills.

Moony’s pride was noticeable, but separate.

Homeless for the moment, Remus had made the Den his home. Moony was of the thought they should _always_ live there, but agreed that having a physical address to come and go from would be easier on Wizards.

He did not like Wizards, and Remus didn’t ask.

He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to. He slowly crossed over to the bed and carefully sat down. “Harry?” he called softly and the little boy, far too little, stirred but didn’t wake.

“Harry,” Remus called again and this time his forehead scrunched.

He waited and watched as Harry slowly woke up. He looked up and slowly sat up. “Are you Lupin?” he asked and _there_ was the acrid smell of fear.

“Yes. Though I prefer to be called Remus. Moony is the wolf,” Remus answered and Harry gave a small smile before he ducked his head down.

The fear was still there.

Remus heard Moony grumble about a birthday wish and how it was answered.

“Harry, Moony said that you told him about your birthday wish, and he said it was answered. However, he’s not being very clear. Could…could you tell me?” Remus asked and Harry slowly looked up.

“I wished to be somewhere safe and loved,” Harry whispered.

Had Remus not made his deal with Moony, he would not have heard it.

Remus blinked and then carefully reached out to place a hand on Harry’s shoulder. Harry flinched, subtly, at the movement and Remus shrunk down slightly.

“Wish granted, Harry,” Remus said with a soft smile and Harry’s head snapped up as a smile began to spread across his face.

“Now, let me look at your hand. I’m not a healer, but I know some and, hopefully, I’ll be able to help with healing it properly.”

And then Remus was going to be taking Harry to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore was likely going mad with worry.

* * *

Remus couldn’t do a thing about Harry’s left hand, except to brace it and use some salve, which he didn’t need surprisingly, to ease the pain.

“A bit out of my depth,” he explained quietly.

“That’s alright. Aunt Petunia said magic wasn’t real. That it was a bad word. But this is all magic, right?” Harry said and Remus almost dropped the pot of salve.

“Yes, this is magic,” Remus responded, barely able to hide his shock.

Lily had not spoken of her sister much, toward the end, and what he did know was that Petunia _hated_ magic. She wanted everything to be perfectly normal, and perfect and splendidly _normal_.

Magic was none of these things in Petunia’s mind.

Harry nodded a little and Remus focused on healing what he could of Harry’s injuries.

* * *

Remus spent the second day, which he swore was just to make sure Harry was feeling alright, before taking him to Hogwarts to get better care, to help Harry adjust a bit to the Magical World.

Moony let out one of his sneeze-laughs, as S--as they were called once.

He explained he was a Werewolf and what that meant, ignoring Moony’s low growls at his wording.

“But that’s a lie. Moony never put his mouth near me. I think everyone who wrote that just met bad werewolves,” Harry protested and refused to believe otherwise.

Moony practically puffed up with pride.

Remus wondered if it was true.

But moving on from werewolves, he went through the rest, well, some of it. He explained about magic and Accidental Magic, and showed Harry his wand, though didn’t allow him to touch it. “Some spells are dangerous,” Remus explained and Harry hadn’t asked to hold the wand again.

Remus felt something akin to contentment settle over him as he spent the day with Harry, keeping him close and making sure he was clean and fed and as happy as Remus could make him.

* * *

The third day, Remus gave in and decided to take Harry to Hogwarts.

Moony was not overly pleased with it and Harry didn’t seem to be either, but was at least curious about how Hogwarts looked.

Remus picked Harry up, put a Disillusionment Charm over them. “Hold tight, Harry. This is not going to be pleasant,” Remus said quietly and turned on his heel, Apparating them away to Hogsmeade from inside the Den.

* * *

Something…was wrong.

Remus felt it, deep in his bones as he rubbed Harry’s back, helping the five-year-old get over his nausea.

He shifted a little. “Harry,” he said quietly, once the small boy had stopped getting so sick.

Harry looked up, looking thoroughly miserable. “I don’t want to do that again,” Harry said and Remus gave a Harry a sympathetic smile.

“Well, we will have to to go back,” Remus said quietly as he kept close to Harry, still gently rubbing Harry’s back.

He wrapped his arms around Harry and easily picked him up. He promptly wrapped his arms around Remus’s neck and Remus shifted to hold him close. He then began to head up to Hogwarts, but stopped when he saw a wolf at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

He felt Moony perk up slightly.

“Who’s that?” Harry asked quietly as Remus slowly walked over to the wolf.

He was surprised to see a few others.

 _“She’s called Song of the Skies. Our Pack and hers used to run together,”_ Moony explained.

“Hello Song of the Skies. I’m Remus. You ran with Moony, and those of our pack. The stag, Prongs, was the Alpha. This is Harry, the pup of my Pack,” Remus greeted softly.

He blinked when the wolf gave a nod of her head. She then focused up at Harry and gave an inquiring whine. Remus glanced at Harry and swallowed, that feeling still running through him.

“Harry, would you mind staying with Song of the Skies and her pack for awhile?” Remus asked and he saw Song of the Skies noticeably startle.

Moony was laughing at Remus while Harry looked excitedly down at the wolves. “If they don’t mind,” he said and Remus looked at the wolves.

He had memories now, he could remember running with them. Song of the Skies hadn’t been the Alpha then. Her parents must have passed and she had inherited the pack.

Song of the Skies gave a nod and Remus carefully settled Harry down on the ground. “He’s a little unsteady about wolf rules still,” Remus said and Song of the Skies gave a nod.

Remus stood for a while, watching them go before he turned, dispelling the Notice Me Not once he was back in front of the gates and began to walk up as Moony continued to laugh at him.

* * *

Remus made his way toward the gargoyle and paused in front of it.

“Lupin,” Snape snarled and Remus turned around, clearing his throat slightly.

“Mr. Snape,” Remus responded quietly, clasping his hands behind his back.

He felt Moony glance through his eyes, and then make a small sound.

 _“The one who was tricked into coming down. I thought he was invading. I wasn’t going to bite him,”_ Moony grumbled.

Snape was tense in front of him, arms crossed sharply across his chest. “That’s _Professor_ Snape to you, Lupin,” he snapped.

“Oh, congratulations, Professor Snape. Do you know the password? I would have owled ahead but, I, ah…don’t have an owl at the moment, but I need to speak with the Headmaster,” Remus responded, resisting the urge to rub at his face.

He could feel the claw marks across his cheek a little more than usual. He thought he had gotten them in a tussle with the one who had turned him, but he wasn’t sure.

Snape sneered. “Blood lollipops,” he recited and the gargoyle moved aside.

“Thank you, Professor Snape,” Remus said.

“I needed to speak to the Headmaster myself,” Snape said and twisted around, his robes billowing around him as he walked toward the stairs.

Remus quickly followed after him, stepping onto the moving staircase with ease.

Snape walked into the office without a knock and Remus tentatively followed after him.

“Severus! And Remus, what a surprise!” Dumbledore greeted and Remus nodded.

“I’ve brought the list of supplies that are needed for this upcoming year, Albus,” Snape said. “Lupin said something about not having an owl.”

The last was said with a sneer. “I do apologize, Headmaster, but it is about Harry--”

Snape scoffed, but that wasn’t what cut Lupin off.

It was Dumbledore’s hand wave. “Don’t you worry, my boy, Harry is perfectly safe and loved with his guardians,” he said.

Remus didn’t show his shock at this. “Headmaster--”

“Please, Remus, call me Albus,” Dumbledore interrupted.

“Albus, I really feel I need to talk to you about Harry,” Remus said quietly.

He knew Harry was safe with the pack of werewolf-born wolves. He was not safe, however, with whoever Albus had put him with.

“The Potter brat is fine and being spoiled _rotten_ by his guardians, I’m _sure,”_ Snape drawled.

Remus didn’t snap back and kept his anger from his face.

He found it easier as Moony expressed their shared rage. “Professor Snape, you have no way of knowing that,” Remus said and focused back on Albus.

“Albus, I’m worried,” Remus said, wondering why Dumbledore wasn’t frantic with worry.

“You have no reason to be, Remus. I saw Harry on his birthday and he was doing quite well,” Dumbledore.

 _“Lies!”_ Moony snarled, and Remus could _smell_ the lie.

“What about the Heir’s Vault key?” Remus asked, remembering how James had grumbled about how to set it up properly.

“Don’t you worry, my boy, I’m keeping it quite safe,” Albus reassured and Remus twisted his fingers around, trying to look like his shy self.

He chewed on his bottom lip and nodded. “Alright. I…I guess I was fretting over nothing,” he said quietly.

“It is quite understandable, Remus,” Albus said sympathetically.

Remus nodded at that and exhaled quietly. “I’m sorry to bother you both,” he said and quickly left, while in his mind, Moony snarled.

 _“You can stay,”_ Remus said, already planning how to get a new Heir Vault key.

He and Moony would _ensure_ Harry’s birthday wish _stayed_ true, even if Remus had to run away to another country to do it.

* * *

Remus made sure they were wearing charms to look different before he took them to Gringotts. He walked quickly and quietly, once he had calmed Harry down from Apparition, mentally reviewing everything he knew about Goblin etiquette, which he would admit wasn’t a great deal.

He decided to be polite and start with claiming his rights as Godfather.

By Merlin, he hoped he was doing the right thing.

* * *

Harry was asleep by the time it was done.

The account manager for the Potter Family, Agnott, seemed quite pleased with everything that had gone down. He revealed that Lupin had a home, a house, likely by James’s standards of a house, in the Highlands of Scotland that was stated to be secluded and taking guardianship of Harry gained him a monthly stipend for Harry’s welfare, as well as his own monthly stipend that James had given him.

Coming to Gringotts was taken as his accepting of what was in James’s will.

Remus got Lily’s Charms work.

She had been so _gifted_.

Agnott also quickly worked to shuffle everything until it was all settled and Remus was, legally, Harry’s guardian. “I’ll need a replacement key for the Heir Vault. Actually, it might be best to terminate all other keys and have new ones crafted. Any that can be held off till Harry’s of age might be best. I’m sorry, Mr. Agnott, I truly am, but I don’t really know what I need to do beyond taking care of Harry,” Remus said quietly.

“You would oversee the running and care of all the Potter properties as well as keeping up the accounts. You will only need a copy of the accounts and deeds, and to keep an eye on them. You can also assign someone the Potter and other Seats absorbed into the line with the line being extant in the female line of the Wizengamot, as the Potter Vaults are among the oldest within Gringotts,” Agnott answered and Remus nodded.

“That sounds perfectly reasonable. Would it be possible to put my home under the Fidelius Charm? Or would that conflict with the wards already in place?” Remus asked.

Agnott began to look over Remus’s home, and gave a small shake of his head. “It would be an extra layer of protection. Who do you have in mind for a Secret Keeper?”

Remus gently shifted his hold on Harry as the boy began to shift in his grip and he began to hum the lullaby Lily used to sing to Harry. He gently rubbed Harry’s back and turned it over in his mind. “If…if it would not be too presumptuous to ask, would you do us the honor of being our Secret Keeper Mr. Agnott?” Remus asked.

“Me, Mr. Lupin?” Agnott asked and Remus nodded.

“If it would be impolite or improper, I can be the Secret Keeper,” Remus said.

“No, no, not in the slightest, I am just…surprised,” Agnott answered.

Remus did not dare ask why. He could imagine. “You have acted only in the best interest of Harry this entire time. I can think of no one else I would rather have help me keep him safe,” he said quietly.

Agnott gave a nod and then cleared his throat. “It shall be done. We will, of course, need to weave Young Lord Potter into the wards at the time, and you, but that can all be done. We shall see you in two days’ time, here. We will take a Portkey to your new home then, Mr. Lupin. And may I say, I am honored to be named your Secret Keeper,” Agnott answered.

Remus gave a nod and slowly stood up. “Thank you, Mr. Agnott. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get Harry to our temporary lodgings and to bed. He napped later than usual today,” he said and Agnott gave a nod.

“Of course, Mr. Lupin. Good day,” Agnott said.

“Good day, Mr. Agnott,” Remus said and he was escorted out.

 _“I’ll miss that forest,”_ Moony said.

 _“I will too. But I’ll keep it up, just in case,”_ Remus answered.

Moony let out a satisfied noise and once outside of Gringotts, Remus turned on his heel and Apparated back to the Den.

Thankfully, Harry stayed asleep and did not get sick again.

* * *

“James Potter, that is not a _house,”_ Remus hissed quietly, Harry on his hip.

Moony was sneeze-laughing at him.

The _miniature castle_ had its own forest around it. Remus could feel the way the wards hummed around the property. He was pretty sure it was un-Plottable and _that was not a house_.

“Re’ms, we’re gonna live in a castle?” Harry asked excitedly.

“A small one. A very small one, but yes, apparently so. Your father had a sense of humor,” Remus said quietly.

“Really?” Harry asked, staring at Remus with wide-eyes and Remus nodded.

“Really,” he agreed verbally.

Harry grinned and hugged Remus before they headed inside.

* * *

Thankfully, despite the outside, it was mostly large rooms. There was a fine kitchen, a library, the Potions lab in the basement, a dining room, a large family/sitting room with a larger fireplace, the tower held something akin to the Astronomy tower at Hogwarts, though scaled back, and there were four bedrooms.

Three had bathing rooms attached, but the fourth was smaller and obviously meant as a nursery, showing James’s plan the entire time.

It was likely going to be a birthday gift, and a place where the Marauder’s could live as one big family.

Peter with his Potions, a forest for them to run around in on the nights of the full moon, a safe room for Harry to have, even if he didn’t get his own, private, bathroom.

The patio at the back was obviously a modified dueling platform for Sirius and Lily.

Remus clung to Harry and then exhaled shakily.

“Let’s go look at the library, Pup,” Remus said quietly, ruffling Harry’s already messy black hair.

Harry giggled and kicked his feet a little. “Can I read Babbity-Rabbit to you?” he asked excitedly.

“Of course you can,” Remus answered warmly and carried Harry back inside.

* * *

Moony’s ears flicked a little before he opened his eyes and yawned, looking around before he found what had woken him.

Harry had grabbed onto his fur during the night.

It had been a month since Remus had adopted Harry officially, a month and still Dumbledore had no idea.

Moony managed not to growl at the thought.

The liar.

He snorted quietly and glanced around.

Harry was afraid of sleeping off the ground, so they had decided that they would slowly build up to it, but for now a thick, magical, mattress on the ground did wonders.

Harry rarely needed to sleep in the same bed as Remus, but he always prefered sleeping with Moony, and Moony was inclined to oblige him.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was going to leave Harry _alone_ , and he felt more secure if he was right next to Harry during the night.

Agnott was a regular visitor now and Harry loved him. All the goblins seemed to be more…polite ever since Remus had asked Agnott’s help in find goblin artifacts and giving them back, having remembered that they were only leased.

Moony didn’t get goblins, but if it made them more inclined to be helpful, Moony wasn’t going to object.

Besides, a lot of the stupid things had been made of silver, which burned like hell.

He nosed gently at Harry’s hair before he let out a quiet sigh and settled back into sleep.

He had two more days with Harry in this form before it would be back to Remus and Harry.

But at least he would have the memories of those times in between.

He wondered if there was any truth to what Anya had suggested about being able to trigger a transformation.

Maybe they’d travel to Ireland and find out.

**Author's Note:**

> This is merely the Prologue for a series. And it is gonna be fun.


End file.
